ARWEN
IT WAS SHAMEFUL HOW LONGย it took for the reality of our new situation to dawn on me. Far, far too long. Iโd been so distracted by my injuriesย and
Kane and our reunion that I hadnโt put the most obvious new piece of our complex puzzle together in my mindโ
Kane had become full-blooded Fae, like me. Like his father. He was now capable of taking my place in the prophecy.
Which meant the truth Iโd spent so many months coming to terms with
โthat even though I wanted more than anything to live, Iย wouldย die to save Evendell, to save my family, and my friends, and the man I lovedโit wasnโt the case anymore.
One of us would have to die to end Lazarus, as stated clearly in the seerโs words, but now it was possible it could beย him.
Which would mean I would live. A near eternity without Kane. Knowing he had paid the ultimate price for my life.
I grasped at the stitches across my stomach as it heaved, Kaneโs reassuring hand stroking my ankle once more.
This time it did nothing to soothe me.
Before this war was over, one of us would be dead.
One of us would leave the other behind. Alone. A greater suffering than anything I could imagine. There was no other way Lazarusโs reign could end.
While I bowed to this ruinous realization, the strategizing had continued around me.
โWe donโt need to kill him,โ Hart was saying. โJust to sack his city. Slay his army. Destroy his power source, which, thanks to your woman, has already been halved at least.โ
โIโve been exactly where you are,โ Kane swore, deadly calm. โI know how this goes, Hart. All of your men will die.โ
Hart shrugged. โPerhaps, but is that not the risk each one of them signed up for?โ
Oh, no.
Sometimes it surprised me how well Kane and I knew each other. Weโd only met less than a year ago, and in that time gone with whiplash quickness from precarious allies to adversaries to friends, and now to something deeper, and much more profound than a couple. If I believed in such things, I would have called him my soulmate.
Which meant I knew what Hartโs blind focus on beating Lazarus would elicit in the man beside me. What his own demonsโthe men and women, theย familyย heโd lost when afflicted by the same thingโwould bring out in him.
Sure enough, Kane stood from the bed in an instant, his lighte rumbling. Sharp shadows of black and wisps of nightshade twined around his knuckles and wrists as he snarled, โYou smug sack of shit.โ
Valery crossed the room as quickly as Iโd seen her move and placed herself in front of Hart and the sideboard. I sat up, my own warm lighte coursing down my veins and toward my fingertips in a way Iโd only ever associated with seeing someone who needed to be healed. Some corner of my mind wondered if I were to look down, if I, too, would see yellow rays of light wreath themselves around my palms.
โAre you really so eager to cash in the lives of those who have put their faith in you?โ
โAll right,โ the rebel cautioned, still seated atop his sideboard. โAll right. Easy, everyone. Kane, your point is taken.โ
He might have been placating him, as I knew it was fear that filtered through Hartโs viridian eyes, but Kane surprised us both by breathing out evenly and running a hand through his hair. Silently, the dark talons and thorns around his forearms retreated into his tanned skin.
โSo,โ Hart tried, calmer but still guarded. โWhere is this blade you need?โ
Kane scratched his neck. Silence gobbled up the cabin. My heart plummeted.
โYouโre fucking with me.โ Hart bit back a laugh. โRight?โ โKane,โ I breathed. โYou left it there?โ
โWhen I awoke,โ Kane said, voice like gravel, โremade, heโd fled with it. I searched for him, and found you with that kingsguardโฆโ A haunting, sorrowful expression contorted his face.
I fought the urge to scramble toward him and deposit myself into his arms. We had been apart for too long, and I wanted to hold him. Instead I said to Hart and Valery, โWe may have one last card to play.โ
Kane cocked his head in silent question. โAmelia is in Solaris.โ
His brows knit inward in sympathy. โArwenโฆShe isnโtโโ
โI know. She told me everything. I still think we can work with her. All she wants is safety for her people. She knows us winning this war is the best outcome for Peridot.โ
Kane was not having any of it. Cold fury burbled up where so much love had just occupied his silver eyes. โYou want me to trustย Ameliaโโ
โAnotherย greatย fuck,โ interrupted Hart, who was examining his dirtied nails.
Once again Kane didnโt bat an eye. โAfter she betrayed us to side with Lazarus? After she had her own father killed? After she signed your fucking death sentence?โ
โSheesh,โ Hart muttered. โWhat a bitch.โ
โBird,โ Kane tried, softer this time. โIโm not trying to insult you. Your positivity is one of my favorite thingsย aboutย you. But donโt you think itโs a little naive to believe thatโโ
โI saidย work with her. Notย trust her. Hart, do you think you can get word to Amelia somehow? To tell her that if she can find the blade and bring it back to Onyx, we swear to spare her life despite her betrayal?โ
โArwenโโ Kane nearly raged.
โWait,โ Hart interrupted. โYou donโt even have your alliance with Peridot anymore?โ
โNo,โ I admitted.
โSo the only army weโre waiting on is Onyxโs?โ
Kane and I remained silent and Hart loosed a long, irritated sigh. He was right. Onyx and Hartโs rebels alone, as fearsome as both armies were, couldnโt defeat all of Lazarusโs Fae soldiers. Let alone their allies of Amber and Garnet, too.
โDo we have any other options to take Peridotโs place?โ
There were nine kingdoms in Evendell. Not counting Onyx and Peridot, or Amber and Garnetโwho had long ago aligned with Lazarusโthat left Jade, which was uninhabited; Pearl, which was army-less, too, its precarious location high above the clouds serving as defense enough; and Opal, which was a sprawling no-manโs-land with only a handful of territories and a treaty that declared them neutral in all wartime affairs.
โCitrine?โ Hart suggested.
โWe tried,โ I said. โThey wonโt fight with us.โ
โAnd Arwen broke their princeโs heart,โ Kane added with a cruel smirk. โWhich didnโt help.โ
Hart grinned at me like that was a delectable piece of information. โThat only leaves the Quartz of Rose.โ
Kane shook his head. โThe Scarlet Queenโโ
โNow she,โ Hart mused, โwas the greatest fuck. But the things she wanted me to do to her aโโ
โHart,โ Valery admonished.
He went wide-eyed. โWhat? People love that story!โ Kane rolled his eyes. โThe Scarlet Queen is mad.โ
Hart waggled his eyebrows at me as if to say,ย Yeah she is.
I couldnโt decide if I found him repulsive or adorable. A bit of both?
โAnd,โ Kane continued, โsheโs got her own unruly kingdom to keep an eye on. The southern dissenters still threaten to wage war on the north, and theyโve only grown stronger the past few years.โ
โCouldnโt we try to convince her? Rose wonโt be spared by Lazarus. Hart, if youโve hadโฆintimate relations with the queen, wouldnโt she be open to discussing with you?โ
Hart shook his head. โOnly if you were willing to tramp out her enemies in the south. Frankly, youโd have better luck tracking down Aleksanderโs army.โ
โNo.โย Kaneโs voice hadnโt sounded so uncompromising the entire afternoon.
Aleksanderโฆ
My mind drifted to a conversation Kane and Iโd had in his cabin in Cragโs Hollow that rainy, harrowing night.
โI even convinced Aleksander Hale to join us, the leader of a peculiarly savage race of Fae called Hemolichsโฆthey draw power from corpses, wounds, even their own injuries, making them unmatched warriors. Some drink the blood of animals, mortals, or other Fae to keep their lighte strong.โ
โWhy not?โ Valery asked Kane.
โHe hasnโt been seen in decades. And even if he hadโI wouldnโt trust that filthy Blood Fae for all the coin in this realm.โ
A smile leapt up Hartโs face. โLoversโ quarrel?โ
โI watched hundreds hanged because of him,โ Kane growled. โMy own mother and brother among them.โ
It was Griffin who had told me that Aleksanderโs men, his army of Hemolichs, were enslaved by Lazarus and used like prized fighting dogs. That Aleksander had agreed to fight in Kaneโs rebellion, but instead gave them up to Lazarus in turn for freedom for his people. By the time Kane and a handful of Fae escaped Lumera and he went looking for Aleksander, the Hemolich was gone. The last theyโd heard, heโd used his army to help the mad queen of Rose, Ethera, win her civil war against the south, and hadnโt been heard from since.
โYou didnโt kill him?โ Hart asked, as if it were expected protocol to eviscerate any man who betrayed you.
โHeโs been hiding from me for fifty years.โ
โVendetta like thatโฆโ Hart shook his unruly head of hair. โWhyโd you stop looking?โ
โI hadโฆโ Kane tucked his chin down as if heโd almost faced me but thought better of it. โOther priorities.โ
โWell,โ Hart said, letting his leg drop over the edge of the sideboard. โHeโs in Rose, somewhere.โ
โWhat gives you that idea?โ
โEthera told me. When we wereโฆโ Hart jerked his chin toward me with a boyish smirk. โHaving intimate relations, as you said. The two of them made a blood oath years ago. Probably right around the time he left Lumera and swore his army to her cause.โ
โWhat was the nature of the oath?โ Hart shrugged. โNo clue.โ
Kane scratched his chin in thought. โI always assumed a mortal like Ethera never aged due to some kind of spell or curseโฆSeems itโs the blood oath that keeps her so young.โ
โAnd so fucking crazyโฆโ Hart said, eyes glazing over as if recalling a specific memory. When Valery cleared her throat, Hartโs eyes found ours and he schooled his face. โLook, betrayal a half century ago or not, Aleksander Haleโs Blood Fae army is ten times more powerful than Roseโs mortal one. Theyโreย machines. They draw their power fromย blood. Drinking it, pulling from peopleโs bodies, corpses, necrophilia, lathering themselves in itโฆYou know what that means? Carnage, war, losing a fucking limbโit only makes themย more powerful.โ
โI know that,โ Kane gritted out. โItโs why my father enslaved them in the first place. Both to fight for Solaris and to keep them from turning that power against him.โ
โYouโre going to let your hurt feelings stop you from using an army like that?โ
Kane remained silent, though his jaw had gone rigid.
โHe tried once,โ I said softly. โWe have no reason to believe Aleksander wouldnโt deceive us again.โ
โGods, he betrayed the fallen son of Lazarus. Whoโs now full-bloodedโฆ Heโs a dead man anyway. Heโd probably be thrilled to work off his debt to you.โ
Kane only said, โWeโll get through to Ethera, somehow.โ
โSo,โ I said, my mind swimming a bit with all the new information. โHart will get word to Amelia to somehow extricate the blade from the palace in Solaris in return for her life, and weโll speak with the Scarlet Queen and convince her to rally her army for our cause? Without endangering thousands of southern Rose livesโฆโ
The sharp-boned witch nodded in my direction, though Hartโs expression darkened with doubt. And I didnโt blame him. It was ambitious at best.
โAmelia wonโt believe you and I are aligned,โ Kane said to the rebel. โHer default is distrust. Here.โ
Kane pulled his motherโs black signet ring from his pinky and offered it to Hart. โShe knows what it means to me. Tell her itโs a sign of my word.โ
Amelia, who had been one of Kaneโs closest friends. One of his only friends. Who knew his history, his sufferingโmy heart stirred for the bond theyโd both lost.
Hart nodded, placing the onyx-and-silver ring in his pocket with care.
โOnce we have our armies and the blade,โ I said, โweโll bring everyone back here. How long do you think it will take Lazarus to rebuild even half the lighte we destroyed?โ
โTwo weeks,โ Hart said. โThree, tops.โ โWeโll move quickly, then,โ Kane said.
I was way ahead of him, already easing myself from the bed and sliding on borrowed boots.
Kane motioned back toward me. โThank you again, Hart.โ
โDonโt mention it.โ Hart hopped down from his spot atop the sideboard. โKane, once we winโฆ.โ For the first time, Hart appeared less assured. He
shot Valery a look that I couldnโt quite read. โI donโt want our good men to war over the throne, and I know itโs your birthright, butโโ
Kane shook his head. โIt was my brotherโs, not mine.โ
An ache pulled at my chest with his words. With the memories I knew plagued him. Kane never wished to usurp his father. Not before he rebelled, not after when he inherited the throne from King Oberon in Onyx, and absolutely not now that he was full-blooded. It was his fatherโs dream to have a true Fae heir on the Lumerian throne. Kane would never fulfill it.
Hart remained silent, showing a tact Iโd yet to see from the spirited would-be king. He was waiting Kane out. Allowing him to make the first offer.
โShould we win,โ Kane said in the end, โas the son of Lazarus, I will crown you king of Lumera. You have the people of this realm behind you, and thatโs what matters. In return, I only require that you will agree to a handful of my political requests, no questions asked.โ
โA generous offer.โ Hart grinned broadly. โAnd one Iโll gladly accept.โ
โYouโve proven yourself a decent man,โ Kane said. โPerhaps a pig, butโฆโ
Hart only laughed, rough and genuine. โPerhaps so. But I love this land. I love these people. And each one of them deserves a life better than this one.โ
โIndeed.โ Kane nodded. โIt will bring me great relief to see you take his throne.โ
โMe, too, friend.โ
Kane extended his hand and the two men shook.
For some near-indescribable reason, the simple act made my throat tighten with emotion. I wondered if Iโd just beheld something very pivotal for the future of all realms.
Kaneโs bright eyes on mine told me he felt the same. โDo you have a steed to spare? Iโve always found the first few days of the channel easiest on horseback.โ
Hart shook his head. โWe donโt have that kind of time. Valery and her coven can open a portal between realms.โ
Valery nodded to us both and excused herself, and Hart followed suit before stopping in the doorway. โIf we succeed, there will be ballads written about this afternoon.โ
Kane grinned that chilling, glittering smile of his and my heart thumped at his devastating beauty, multiplied only by his joy. โI hope they leave out how many powerful women youโve fucked.โ
Hart beamed. โI donโt.โ
The door closed softly behind him, leaving just Kane and me, alone again at last.
He took a tentative step toward me and leaned down, brushing his thumb across my cheek and cradling my jaw. The curve of his silver rings slid gently along my chin.
Those slate eyes were tired, his face bruised, his hair shiny and tousled around his face.
Iโd never be used to his heartbreaking looks.
I tried to swallow them, but tears pricked at my eyelids and slid silently down one cheek and then the other. Kaneโs brows knit inward, worried.
But I shook my head and covered his warm, large hand with mine. We were going home.